Screwdriver with bit storing handle

ABSTRACT

A hand tool, in the form of a screwdriver in which a series of tool bits are stored in longitudinal recesses formed in the outer circumferential surface of the handle. The tool bits are retained in the recesses by an elastic O-ring, and may be easily removed by rolling back the O-ring for snap fitting into the shank portion of the tool.

United States Patent Stillwagon, Jr.

SCREWDRIVER WITH BIT STORING HANDLE Inventor: George B. stillwagon, Jl.,Dayton, Ohio Assignee: Gardner-Denver Company, Dayton, Ohio Filed: Apr.30, 1970 Appl. No.2 33,355

US. Cl ..145/62, 16/110.5, 206/17 Int. Cl ..B25g l/08 Field ofSearch..145/61,62, 63; 206/16 R, 17,

206/DIG. 6; 7/15; 16/1 10.5

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Small ..206/ l 6 UX [4 1June6,1972

637,735 11/1899 Harrison ..l45/63 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS271,732 6/1927 Great Britain ..206/DIG. 6

Primary Examiner-Andrew R. J uhasz Assistant Examiner-Michael Koczo, Jr. Attorney-Marechal, Biebel, French & Bugg 57 ABSTRACT A hand tool, inthe form of a screwdriver in which a series of tool bits are stored inlongitudinal recesses formed in the outer circumferential surface of thehandle, The tool bits are retained in the recesses by an elastic O-ring,and may be easily removed by rolling back the O-ring for snap fittinginto the shank portion of the tool.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN s 1972 3,667, 518

M/ I/EW TOR GEORGE B. STILLWAGON, JR.

W444 ATTORNEYS 7/ SCREWDRIVER WITH BIT STORING HANDLE BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION Many hand tools, such as crew drivers and the like, have beenproposed in which one or more interchangeable driving bits are stored inthe tool handle. For example, U.S. Pat. No.

707,901 shows a hand tool having longitudinally extending grooves forreceiving the tool bits. The tool bits are inserted axially through theend portion of the tool handle and are exposed through narrow slotsformed by the grooves. The tool bits cannot fall out of the groovessince the slot formed by the groove is narrower than the diameter of thetool bit.

In US. Pat. No. 2,337,514 there is disclosed a tool handle havinglongitudinally extending compartments completely enclosed in the handle.The tool bits stored in these compartments are accessible by rotating adisk positioned between the end of the handle and a cap covering thedisk. The disk has one hole in'it, while the cap has a plurality ofholes corresponding to the compartments. When the hole in the disk isaligned with the desired compartment, the hand tool is tipped so thatthe handle is pointed downwardly, and the particular bit is removedaxially from its compartment. A similar hand tool is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 648,589 in which an end cap is rotatable with respect to thehand tool and disk. The cap has one hole for communication with cavitieswithin the handle, and is spring biased away from the handle to retainthe cap in any desired position of rotation.

In the aforementioned patents, the forming of the tool bit storagecavity by drilling or other means constitutes an additional step fromthe manufacture of the handle itself. Accordingly, the cost ofproduction of these hand tools is significantly increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a tool handlehaving an outer gripping surface formed with a series of longitudinallyextending flutes. A recess is formed inwardly of each flute and isadapted to receive a tool bit. The tool bits are retained in theirrespective recesses by an elastic resilient Oring received within acircumferential groove formed about the tool handle. The groove islongitudinally positioned on the handle such that the O-ring overliesthe recesses, and the depth of the groove is such that the O-ring isstretched over the bits when they are inserted in their respectiverecesses and thus retains the tool bits therein. One end of a driveshank is received in an end of the handle while the other end of theshank has a coupling or socket secured thereto for receiving a tool bit.

A tool bit stored in one of the recesses may easily be removed byrolling the O-ring rearwardly away from the recess. The tool bit maythen be radially extracted from the recess, or the tool handle may berotated so that the tool bit drops out of the recess. During the removalor insertion of a tool bit into the recess, the O-ring is retained inthe other circumferential portions of the groove extending between theaxial flutes. The socket or coupling means on the end of the shank isadapted to receive and retain a tool bit in a snap fit arrangement.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is described in terms of ahandle having a series of circumferentially spaced longitudinallyextending flutes within which the bit-receiving recesses are formed.These flutes assist in forming a good gripping surface for the handle.However, the invention is not intended to be limited thereto and the bitreceiving recesses may be formed in the outer surface of the grippinghandle without relation to such flutes. Further, in the preferredembodiment, the bit receiving recesses are formed adjacent the forwardportion of the handle and in this manner are substantially out of theway of the normal useage of the tool and therefore do not interfere withthe useage of the tool. In this position, the elastomeric ring ispositioned such that it may be readily engaged by the thumb of the userand rolled in either direction to permit extraction of one or more ofthe bits.

It is accordingly an important object of the present invention toprovide a screwdriver or other driving tool in which a handle hasprovision for storage of a plurality of individually selectable bits,the storage means comprising recesses in the outer circumference of thehandle which are radially open and which permit a radial insertion andextraction of the bit.

A further object is the provision of a driver, as outlined above, inwhich a simple elastomeric member is received in circumferentialrelation to the handle and which retains a series of bits withinrecesses formed within the handle and which may be retracted to permitwithdrawal or insertion of any one of the bits.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawingand the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thehand tool;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of the handle portion;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the handle portion; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional enlarged end view taken generally along line4-4 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A hand tool, illustrated in theform of a screw driver, includes an elongated handle 12 which ispreferably molded of plastic material and has a generally cylindricalouter gripping surface 14 extending between radial endsurfaces l5 and16. A plurality of peripherally spaced and longitudinally extendingflutes 18 are formed within the outer surface 14 of the handle tofacilitate firm gripping of the handle. A longitudinally exrecess hasrounded end surfaces.

The recesses 20 are adapted to receive a series of hardened steel toolbits 22-25, and the length of each recess 20 corresponds generally withthe length of the corresponding tool bit. As shown in FIG. 1, the bit 22is designed for driving slotted-head screws, and bits 23 and 25 areadapted for driving Phillips head screws. While each of the tool bits22-25 has a hexagonal cross-sectional configuration, it is to beunderstood that tool bits of other configurations may be'stored withinthe recesses 20.

A generally circumferentially extending groove 28 is formed within theouter surface 14 of the handle 12 and receives an elastic and resilientO-ring 30. The groove 28 is positioned longitudinally on the handle 12and has a sufficient depth so that the O-ring 30 extends laterallyacross each of the tool bits 22-24 and is elastically deformed over thebits to retain the tool bits within their corresponding recesses.

As illustrated by the tool bit 25 in FIG. 1, each of the bits 22-25 isadapted to be received within a tubular coupling or socket 35 secured tothe outer end portion of an elongated hexagonal shank 36 having an innerend portion extending axially into the handle 12 through theend surface15. Preferably, the socket 35 is constructed as shown in the Clark US.Pat. No. 2,550,775 to provide for magnetizing the selected tool bit. Thebit is retained by a snap fitting connection such as shown in US. Pat.No. 2,522,217.

When it is desired to interchange tool bits, the tool bit retained bythe socket 35 is removed and is inserted in its corresponding recess 20simply by rolling the adjacent overlying portion of the O-ring 30rearwardly out of the groove 28 and onto the surface 14 with the thumbas shown in FIG. 2. After the bit is placed within its recess, theO-ring 30 is released so that it snaps back into the groove 28. Asimilar procedure is used in removing one of the tool bits from itscorresponding recess 20. That is, the handle 12 is turned until theselected tool bit is generally on top. The adjacent portion of theO-ring 30 is then retracted (FIG. 2), and the handle is rotated orturned to enable the selected bit to drop radially from its recess intothe other hand. The selected bit is then snap-fitted into the socket 35.

From the drawing and the above description, it is apparent that a handtool constructed in accordance with the present invention providesdesirable features and advantages. For example, by storing and retaininga series of different tool bits within corresponding recesses formedwithin the outer gripping surface of the tool handle, and by employingan elastic retainer ring, the tool bits can be quickly and convenientlyinterchanged. That is, by simply rolling back a portion of the elasticO-ring 30, a tool bit may be quickly and conveniently inserted orremoved by a generally radial movement from its corresponding recess.Moreover, the circumferential interruptions within the groove 28produced by the flutes 18, are effective to assure that a portion of theO-ring 30 remains in the groove 28 when another portion of the O-ring isrolled from the groove. As a result, only the selected recess is openedwhen the adjacent portion of the O-ring is rolled rearwardly from therecess.

The hand tool thus described can be easily and efficiently manufactured.Since the flutes and recesses are on the outer surface of the handle 12,the hand tool can be manufactured by use of a mold or die havingappropriate projections in the mold to readily form the desired grooves,flutes and recesses. The use of such a mold provides for efiicient andlow cost production of the hand tool.

While the article herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limitedto this precise hand tool article, and that changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the scope of the invention which is defined inthe appended claims. For example, while the recesses are preferablyformed within the bottom surfaces of the flutes 18 and project inwardlyfrom the flutes, it is within the scope of the invention to form therecess 20 directly within the outer surface 14 of the handle 12.Furthermore, while the O-ring is the preferred means for retaining thetool bits within the recesses 20, it is to be understood that anotherform of retaining means may be used. For example, a coil tension springhaving opposite ends connected to form an annular ring might be used inplace of the rubber O-ring 30. It is also within the scope of theinvention for the tool bits 22-25 to comprise socket bits or Allen bits.Although shank 36 is shown to connect socket or coupling 35 to handle12, it is to be understood that shank 36 can be omitted, and socket 35secured directly to handle 12 to form a shorter hand tool. While thelocation of the recesses and elastic retainer O-ring are shown adjacentto the forward end 15 to facilitate gripping the tool handle, therecesses and O-ring may be located anywhere along the length of thehandle.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to this precise form of apparatus and that changes may bemade therein without departing from the scope of the invention which isdefined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A screwdriver having bit storage means for storing a plurality ofselectable screwdriver bits for ready access and having an elongatedshank projecting from said handle defining a driving coupler on theremote end thereof for selectively receiving said bits for use, theimprovement in said bit storage means comprising means in said handledefining a plurality of radially outwardly-opening bit-receivingrecesses, each of said recesses being oriented generally longitudinallyof said handle and peripherally spaced about said handle, the depth ofsaid recesses being somewhat less than the radial thickness of said bitsso that a portion of the associated said bit in each said recess proectssomewhat radially of said recess, means in said handle de imng acircumferential groove in intersecting relation to said recesses, anelastic band mounted in said groove having a circumference which isslightly less than that of said handle so as to bear radially againstbits in said recesses for retaining the same, said band being deformableand movable out of said groove upon the application of an axialdeforming force to permit insertion and removal of said bits withrespect to said recesses.

2. The screwdriver of claim 1 in which said elastic band comprises anelastomeric O-ring.

3. The screwdriver of claim 1 in which said handle has an outer grippingsurface, means in said handle defining a corresponding plurality oflongitudinally-extending flutes in said outer surface, and in which saidrecesses project inwardly of said flutes.

1. A screwdriver having bit storage means for storing a plurality of selectable screwdriver bits for ready access and having an elongated shank projecting from said handle defining a driving coupler on the remote end thereof for selectively receiving said bits for use, the improvement in said bit storage means comprising means in said handle defining a plurality of radially outwardly-opening bit-receiving recesses, each of said recesses being oriented generally longitudinally of said handle and peripherally spaced about said handle, the depth of said recesses being somewhat less than the radial thickness of said bits so that a portion of the associated said bit in each said recess projects somewhat radially of said recess, means in said handle defining a circumferential groove in intersecting relation to said recesses, an elastic band mounted in said groove having a circumference which is slightly less than that of said handle so as to bear radially against bits in said recesses for retaining the same, said band being deformable and movable out of said groove upon the application of an axial deforming force to permit insertion and removal of said bits with respect to said recesses.
 2. The screwdriver of claim 1 in which said elastic band comprises an elastomeric O-ring.
 3. The screwdriver of claim 1 in which said handle has an outer gripping surface, means in said handle defining a corresponding plurality of longitudinally-extending flutes in said outer surface, and in which said recesses project inwardly of said flutes. 